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ASHBURTON BOROUGH.

The annual meeting of Householders was held in the Borough Schoolroom last evening, when there was a fairly good attendance. Mr W. J. Silcock (Chairman of the old Committee), was voted to the chair. The following report was read:— Your Committee has much plpasure in submitting the annual report to the householders. During the ten months this Committee has held office, it has held 18----meetings, at which meetings the members have attended the following number of times—Messrs Silcock 18, Bean 18, Craighead 14,.Porter 18, Scott ,10, Paul 12, and Mr Ranger who was elected subsequently, 3 times out of a possible 6. Since the Committee took office there have been 6 new appointments of teachers, the most important ot which have been Mr Mayne as headmaster, and Miss Grant as infant mistress ; although the number of new appointmente has been large, your Committee, without in the leapt wishing to reflect on its past teachers, has no hesitation in saying the present staff,-, taken as a whole, is one of the most efficient that has ever been in the school, and feel confident that the results at the next annual, examination will be very satisfactory, and will go a long way towards restoring confi-i dence and raising the Borough School to the position which it should occupy, viz, the leading school of the county. Ihiring the I year your Committee were enabled (through the kindness of the Rev. J. N". Buttle ingiving a lecture, and the liberality of the well wishers of education), to distribute a valuable and handsome lot of prizes to the children, a.nd also give them a treat at a total cost of £26 2s lid. (Balance last year, £331859 d). ■ • ; The total income for the year has been £942 7s Id, viz :— !

The school buildings and apparatus are in good and efficient repair, with one or Wo i exceptions where some slight repairs are' necessary. Your Committee feel that with; old buildings such as this school, the utmost economy will have to be practised, to preserve the buildings in repair with the limited, amount allowed by the Board for this purpose. Your Committee has given permission for the Bible to be read in the school at stated times by the clergymen of any denomination in the town. It has also brought into force the compulsory clauses of the Education Act, which, as you are probably, aware, gives the Committee power, to sue any parent or guardian who neglects to : send their children to school.. The Commit-; tee would urge on parents' tlie necessity of sending their children to school; so that both scholars and teachers may have a fair chance of showing their capabilities. The Committee are glad to be able to report that during its term of office, the old bickering spirit that so long made the Ashburton School Committee a bear garden has departed, and that the greatest'good will; and harmony has existed between the teachers and the Committee.. , , . , ; For the Ashßurton District School Committee '/ i . ':> .■% r W.'Ji'- Silcock, . Chairman.

Ashburton, 28th April, 1890. ( i Mr Bisset wished the last clause of ithe , report read again, and wanted to know if the "departed spirit" had any fleshly substance. " ' ; The Chairman read the paragraph referred to, and explained the reason for its insertion. Mr Reid took exception to the clause which referred to the teaching sftaff as being " the best"' that had ever been in the ! school. ■'*.".' The Chairman explained that the report as a whole expressed the vifew of the majority at the Committee. Mr Bisset moved "that the report in so far as it related to actual facts and figures be adopted, and that the clause referring to :'« '■ "■■ : i Tbe deleted." , - :>!■ ■■•.■■■■ . ided. •- - • ; After- .. :-]. -11,I 1, .V : . ,'. ;. 1 i: --i; t«v.i.i<: 1i p" opiiiii-'i ■. >■, \; ■■■ -■■ i i:: ■■ ;■ .■<■>•■, ■■'!■■>: ■ ■■•i ..■■: : (■■.!■'■.< ',>.• :i- £.:.■'.■.:■■■<>. j.i:<| <\. , ■ ■ i :■ ; ■ ■ ■:■'■■ ■'■■ :y in giving an opinion.as to the efficiency, of .the teaching staff or the state of the school, . , , i '' Mr Paul suggested I'as a-way out of the difficulty, the insertion of the words "one of," so as to make the report allude to. the. teaching staff. as being -"one" of the most efficient in place of "the" most efficient. The speaker concurred with Mr Reid in taking exception to any invidious comparision with the previous teaching staffs. .The report was amended and adopted.' On the motion of Mr Painter, seconded by Mr Reid, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded the outgoing Committee. The election of a Committee for the ensuing year was then proceeded with, and resulted as follows :— - ' j R. S. Bean 37 W. Craighead 35 G. Bisset 34 J. Porter 31 E. J. Paul ... 20 Johnßaker 17 W. J. Silcock 11! J. Ranger 5 J. Campbell .... ...' ... 5; The first seven were declared duly elected. The following is an

A meeting of the newly elected Committee was subsequently held, but the question of the appointment of Chairman was held over for a/uture meeting.